Question about my brother

[sam123]

Guys,

I have a question about my brother. Recently, he was experiencing some abdominal pain and now yesterday he was diagnosed with Kidney Stone. He already has high blood pressure and he is taking some medicines for that but it seems like its not working very well. Doctor told him that there is some swelling into his kidneys and he has to do an operation to remove kidney stones. I came to know about this today and now I am very tensed. I was thinking that swelling in the kidneys can be because of high blood pressure but I am not sure.

Do any of you guys know if this thing can be cured without an operation? What are the chances of successful operation? Any piece of information or personal experience will be very useful. Also, can he eat a high protein diet in this case…currently he is on high carb diet.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sam

[beau91]

Hi Sam123
What is the treatment for kidney stones?

Most kidney stones eventually pass through the urinary tract on their own within 48 hours, with ample fluid intake. Pain medications can be prescribed for symptom relief. There are several factors which influence the ability to pass a stone. These include the size of the person, prior stone passage, prostate enlargement, pregnancy, and the size of the stone. A 4 mm stone has an 80% chance of passage while a 5 mm stone has a 20% chance. Stones larger than 9-10 mm rarely pass on their own and usually require treatment.

Some medications have been used to increase the passage rates of kidney stones. These include calcium channel blockers such as nifedipine and alpha blockers such as tamsulosin. These drugs may be prescribed some people who have stones that do not rapidly pass through the urinary tract.

For kidney stones which do not pass on their own, a procedure called lithotripsy is often used. In this procedure, shock waves are used to break up a large stone into smaller pieces that can then pass through the urinary system.

Surgical techniques have also been developed to remove kidney stones. This may be done through a small incision in the skin (percutaneous nephrolithotomy) or through an instrument known as an ureteroscope passed through the urethra and bladder up into the ureter.This is what I found on the site of MedicineNet If you want to see the full article just go on the site .Here is the link.
Kidney Stones (Renal Stone) Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention on MedicineNet.com (http://www.medicinenet.com/kidney_stone/page3.htm)
Hope it can help you Bye Ricky

[beau91]

Me again Sam123 found another site with more explanation from the Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kidney-stones/DS00282/DSECTION=7
Bye Ricky

[Keezheekoni]

I had the lithotripsy done back in August of 2006. It's an easy procedure, it's usually outpatient I believe, but I was in hospital for 5 days because I was having other problems they were trying to diagnose as well. The thing that your brother won't like is the stent they put in after that surgery. It makes it very painful to urinate! Extremely painful! They give you really nice pain meds after the surgery too.

More protein will actually cause certain types of stones to form, as will excess calcium. Make sure that the surgeon sends some of the stones to the lab to find out what kind of stones he has. From there you can talk to the doctor or a nutritionist about a diet to prevent kidney stones.